Freight car end construction



K. F. NYSTROM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jib/"Z [Myst/"0m, @M

Sept. 9, 1952 FREIGHT CAR END CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 4, 1946 Sept. 9, 1952 K. F. NYSTROM FREIGHT CAR END CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 4, 1946 IN V EN TOR. JiZZ/i K @wfmm, BY

Patented Sept. 9, 1952 UNITED FREIGHT oAa END CONSTRUCTION Karl F. Nystrom, Nashotah, Wis. Application February 4, 1946, Serial No. 645,339

4 Claims. (01. 105-410) My invention relates more particularly to the construction and arrangement ofthe end walls of railroad freight cars whereby a better distribution of the outwardly directed forces of the car lading, which result especially during switching operations and more or less sudden variations in speed of train travel, is obtained.

The invention has for its object the provision of a construction whereby the forces mentioned will be distributed throughout the entire end wall of the car whose construction issuch that these forces will be transmitted to the side panels of the car to be absorbed by the side girders of the car and the usual flexural stresses on the end wall members eliminated. I

i The invention contemplates an end wall composed ofspecially formed end stiles united at their'upper ends by a self reenforcingend plate and united at their lower ends by the end sill; these elements being immovably securedtogether to provide a frame in-which a sheet metal membrane is secured and arranged so as to uniformly transmit theoutwardly directed stresses encountered by it'to the beam forming stiles at car ends and sides. 1. i i l i One object ofthe invention is the provision of a stronger car end'adaptedto withstand a local blow due to its construction whereby a larger percentage of the end wall is stressed by such a blow.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lighter construction wherein lighter weight sheet metal than heretofore employed may be used; and a minimum of wood fillers for securing the end lining is required.

My improved end Wall readily lends itself t prefabrication and consequent reduction in cost of construction.

My improved end stiles provide for an end ladder which has more clearance than in constructions heretofore employed and consequently the car can be made longer in so far as lading space is concerned, while atthe same time affording the same safety appliance clearance; and safety appliance tolerances are easily maintained...

The foregoing enumerated objects and advantages, as well as other advantages inherent in my invention, will all be readily comprehended from the detailed description of the accompanyiny drawings wherein: t

Figure 1 illustrates the hand-brake end of a freight car in elevation involving my invention.

7 Figure 2 is an elevation of a portion of the car side wall adjacent the end wall.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows, with a portion of the wall intermediate the top and bottom of the car broken away. p

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially at the line 44 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, as viewed by the arrows.

Figure 6 is a plan view taken along the line ii-+fiof Figure 2. t i

Figure '7 is a cross-sectional view of the car end taken on the line 1 ofFigure flocking downward. Y I I "Figure 7A is a diagrammatic illustration of the direction of force from the lining boards to the membrane sheet.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken adjacent one corner of the car, with the inter mediate portions broken away, to illustrate themanner in which the car end elements-viz.

car end wall, end sill and membrane sheet are intimately secured or welded together, as well as the welding of the end sheet to the roof elements which latter is of conventional form and the interior elements omitted.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the car corner construction and particularly of the vertical beam-forming member, all as shown at one of the corners of Figure 7.

My invention relates more particularly to the end construction of freight cars with a view to acquiring the desideratum of lightness and strength. With present day high speed freight trains consisting of large numbers of cars, it is essential to materially lighten the car weight to enable the speed to be attained, without, however, sacrificing the element of suflicien-t strength to withstand the load thrusts longitudinally of the car encountered from shifting loads during car operation and particularly the impacts and strains transmitted to the car end walls under exceedingly heavy switching forces. These load thrusts are transmitted directly to the end lining boards which, however, are not strong enough in themselves to transmit theforces to the side panels and side girders of the car, with the result that the car end wall soon becomes fractured.

In the particular exemplification of the invention, each car end consists of the metal beam forming members 20, 29, which extend from the end sill 2| to the end plate 22 and adjacent the car roof the lower end of the end plate preferably .in Figures and 7.

3 having an angle beam as shown at 22st; the L- shaped beam members being rigidly secured to said elements as by welding indicated at am. Each beam member 2?} is formed of sheet metal to provide an end wall panel section 23 (see Figures 5 and 7) whose vertical marginal portion is bent outwardly and thence substantially parallel with section 23 to provide an inwardly turned flange, as shown at 25. The member preferably is of width to also provide a side wall panel section 25; the two sections 23 and 25 being united at the corner of the car by an outwardly bent integral box-like and rigidifying portion 2% dis-- posed outwardly at an obtuse angle tothe carend and car side, as more clearly shown in Figures 5,

7 proved construction the more or less free float- 6 and 7, and thus also providing a fillers or corner post receiving portion disposed'outwardly.

The vertical marginal portion 7 of the car walls.

or the side wall panel section 25 is also reenforced by a preferably outwardly bent portion which is arranged substantially parallel with panel section 25, as shown at 2'5 in Figure 5. These angularly disposed longitudinally off-set rigidifying portions provide columnar or beam strength and resistance to flexing.

The outwardly off-set box-like or pocket portion 26 is provided with a filler or wood post 28, which is shown kerfed angularly to provide one face parallel with the inner face of side wall stile section '25 and the other face parallel with the inner face of end. wall stile section 23, to receive theends of the side wall lining boards 29 and the end lining boards 36 which latter may be secured to the post '28 by suitable screws as at 28 The end stiles 28 (one at each cornerof the car), end sill 2i and end plate 22 f-orm a rigid frame, at each end of the'c'ar, to which a membrane sheet 3! is firmly attached preferably by welding at its four marginal portions.

Each membrane sheet 3! is given an initial outward deflection along its vertical median line,

as shown in Figures 5 and 7; and this deflected portion receives a somewhat loosely held center post 32 which extends from top to bottom of the membrane sheet and is supported in place by the intermediate portions of the end sill 2i and of the end plate 22 where the 'e'nd sill and the end plate and its bottom flange or angle bar are enlarged or bowed outwardly substantially at the longitudinal median line of the car, as shown at 2i in Figure 5 and at 22 in Figure 6. --With these outwardly bowed or enlarged portions of the end sill and the end plate, the lower and up peredges of the membrane sheet at the median portion may overlap the end sill and end plate and be welded as indicated at ti Figures 3 and a or otherwise rigidly secured thereto; The ar-,

center post 32 are -kerfed as shown atS'i in Figure 3.

The end lining boards 30 are supported by the end stiles 2t, 29 and the center post 32 is secured to the end boards 3i as by a suitable number of screws Se the end lining boards 30 being shown preferably secured to the end stiles by suitable bolts as at 33, see Figure 5.

Assume a uniform load in the car, similar, for example, to that obtained by a load'of grain in order to understand the distribution of forces in the end of the car under very heavy switching forces. These forces would be transmitted directly to the end lining boards 38 which, howing center post 32 will tend to move outwardly and transmit the pressure to the membrane sheet'3 i at its median line. The stiles 2d, 20, at opposite sides of the car end, are formed "to provide columnar or beam strength to resist flexing and as the stiles are firmly held against movement toward each other by the end plate and the end sill to which they are intimately secured, the outward force produced by the shifting lading on the center post and at the vertical axis of the membrane sheet will be balanced by forces disposed parallel with the membrane sheet. The membrane sheet, therefore, will be in pure tension without fiexural stresses; and as the center post will transmit the force throughout the length of the vertical center of the end sheet, a large sheet area is available to resist the tension.

7 The membrane sheetpreferably is welded at its fourmarginal portions to the end stiles as well as to the end sill and to the end plate and as the tension force is the same at the end stiles as it is at the center post, this forcewill have two components, one in a lateral direction of the car and the other longitudinally, because this force (which is parallel with the membrane) is not parallel with any portion of the end stiles, hence merely one-half the load on the center post is transferred-to the end stiles, :plus' a lateral load, which must resist these forces by fiexure or as a beam. As the end stilesare preventedfrom moving toward the center of the car by the end sill and end'plate acting. as a column, the car end as a fwhole acts much in the manner of a drumthe, membrane sheet 3i resembling. the drum head and. stiles 2G, 29, end sill 2i end plate 22 resembling the frame over which the drum head wall of pocket portion 26 and intimately secured as by welding indicated at tea, with one longitudinal marginal portion 35 extending substantially parallel with side wall section 25 of the end stile and preferably flanged inwardly, while the opposite longitudinal marginal portion 36 extends substantially parallel with the end wall section '23 of the end stile and its longitudinal edge flanged or bent inwardly.

The flanged portion 36 and the flanged marginal portion 24 of the end stile 2t constitu-tethe runners or side uprights of an end ladder which involves the rungs 37 which may be riveted as shown or otherwise secured in place. This con struction provides a ladder which affords greater toe-space with the toe-spade disposed within the plane of the outer surfaceof the stile-beam without addingto the couple-length of the car while providing greater safety for the brakeman; In the event of fracture or damage, the rungs can In the construction illustrated, a large perbe replaced without the necessity for entering a loaded car.

The end plate 22 on the hand brake end of the car preferably is lowered, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, in order that more clearance for the hand brake, shown at 38, may be provided, thus affording a longer car, interiorly, while providing the same external clearance; that is to say, a longer lading holding space is obtained for the same coupled length of car.

My improved end construction provides a number of advantages over construction heretofore employed, namely- A light weight end construction resulting from the opportunity to use a lighter gauge metal sheet than at present employed and which constitutes a large portion of the car end;

A stronger end is provided when struck a local blow because a larger percentage of the end is stressed by such a blow;

A very minimum of wood fillers for securing the end lining is required.

Furthermore, with my improved construction, the end stiles provide or afford an end ladder which has more clearance than in present day freight cars and as a result the car, interiorly, may be made longer and at the same time provide the same safety appliance clearance; and all safety appliances can be exteriorly removed when damaged while the car is under load; safety appliance tolerances being easily maintained.

As is apparent, the nature of my improved end lends itself very well to prefabrication and hence materially reducing time and labor in construction.

The exempliflcation is believed to be the simplest embodiment of my invention, but structural modifications may be possible without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a car end construction comprising an end plate; an end sill; a pair of vertically disposed beam-forming members extending continuously from the end sill to the car roof and arranged at the corners of the car and formed to provide fiat outer end wall sections and fiat outer side wall sections, both sections at their outer marginal edges being bent outwardly to provide reenforcing channel portions from top to bottom, the two sections being integrally united by an outwardly extending box-like corner post receiving pocket disposed obliquely at the corners of the car beyond the planes of the car side and end walls; an angular plate intimately secured to the base of said pocket and extending beyond the sides thereof; rungs secured to an extended portion of said plate and to an outwardly bent marginal portion of a beam-forming member; the beam members being secured at top to the end plate and at bottom to the end sill; a membrane sheet for the car end disposed between the opposing channel portions of the vertical beams and extending from the end sheet to the end sill with the four marginal edges of said sheet intimately secured to said end plate, end sill and said vertical beams, said sheet being flexed outwardly at its vertical median line from top to bottom beyond the normal plane of the car end wall; inner wall end boards; and a floating member secured to said end wall boards and extending from end plate to end sill within said membrane sheet coincident with its vertical median line and free of attachment thereto and to the end plate and end sill for transmitting end impacts to said sheet.

2. A car end construction comprising an end plate, an end sill; a pair of pre-formed metal vertical beams provided with flexure-resisting portions and arranged at the corners of the car end and constituting portions of the car outer side and end walls; lining boards arranged with their ends in overlapping contact with the inner surfaces of said beams and secured thereto; a membrane sheet, circumscribed by said end plate, end sill and pair of vertical beams, secured at its marginal portions in initial non-tension conditon to said end plate, end sill and adjacent the vertical margins of the vertical beams and provided with an outward slope toward its vertical median line with the major portion of said sheet arranged out of contact with the lining boards; a floating center post extending from end sill to end plate, free of attachment thereto, intermediate the vertical median portion of the membrane sheet and the lining boards and secured to the latter whereby lading thrusts encountered by the lining boards will be delivered to the vertical median portion of the membrane sheet when said boards flex and distribute the tension to the vertical beams. V

3. In a car end construction, the combination of an end plate; an end sill; with a pair of vertically disposed pre-formed sheet metal beams secured at top to the end plate and at bottom to the end sill, arranged at the corners of the car and each sheet formed to constitute an end wall panel and a side wall panel with the vertical marginal portions of the beam flanged outwardly to provide rigidifying surfaces; and an outwardly flexed membrane sheet intimately secured at its marginal edges to the end plate, end sill and to the vertical beams to provide a tension member.

4. In a car end construction, pre-formed sheet metal panel sections adapted to be arranged vertically between the top and the bottom at the corners of the car, each section being composed of a single metal sheet formed to constitut an end wall panel and a side wall panel, the intermediate vertical portion of the sheet being formed to provide an outwardly off-set and inwardly opening channel to provide a corner post receiving pocket, the vertical marginal edges of the end and side wall sections being offset outwardly into rigidifying portions; and an angular plate secured to said pocket-forming portion, said angular plate and a channel portion of a panel sheet being adapted to constitute the vertical runners of a ladder.

KARL F. NYSTROM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 15,193 Murphy Sept. 13, 1921 1,398,644 Murphy Nov. 29, 1921 1,505,554 :Gilpin Aug. 19, 1924 1,649,461 Gilpin Nov. 15, 1927 2,017,057 Fitch Oct. 15, 1935 2,121,288 Gilpin June 21, 1938 

